High hopes rule low-power station

Published 12:00 am, Friday, October 7, 2011

WINDHAM -- A new low-power television station based in Greene County is set to provide 10 over-the-air digital channels to the Capital Region.

Management at WYBN Ch. 14, which broadcasts from the summit of Windham Mountain, expected to roll out the first of the channels Thursday and Friday as part of a soft launch.

Ultimately, WYBN's 10 digital channels -- broadcast at 14.1 through 14.10 -- will include five video streams and five audio streams. The offerings will include Spanish-language channels, a sports and outdoor adventure channel, and a men's channel called Tuff TV.

"We're trying to create a station that has some personality, rather than just take feeds from a network," said Dan Viles, owner of Red Hook-based Cable Ad Net New York, which owns WYBN.

Viles expects WYBN programming will eventually be offered on rural cable systems in the Capital Region and hopes Time Warner might pick up its service in urban sections of the area.

But for now, the 15-kilowatt station is available over-the-air -- think rabbit ears -- from southern Saratoga County to Saugerties and Cobleskill.